The Greek noun kephalē means 'head' — both literally (the physical head of a person or animal) and metaphorically (the head as source, authority, or preeminent one). It appears approximately 76 times in the New Testament. Its metaphorical uses in the Pauline and Petrine letters have generated significant theological discussion about authority and submission in church and family.
Ephesians 1:22 declares that God has placed 'all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body.' Christ is the cosmic kephalē — the source and authority over all creation, and the relational head of the church. This headship is marked by self-giving love, not domination.
Ephesians 5:23 applies the kephalē metaphor to marriage: 'the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.' The comparison qualifies the metaphor decisively: Christ's headship is servant-leadership and sacrificial love. Husbands who would be kephalē in the biblical sense are called first to lay down their lives.